Review: Marcus & Lyric by Corinna M. Dominy

Book Cover and Synopsis:

When Marcus Coulter put an ad in the newspaper seeking a roommate, never did he imagine meeting Lyric Bell. Her appearance at his apartment for applicant interviews wasn't the only surprise. She showed up disheveled and looking like she carried a great burden. Before he even knows what he's doing, he offers to let her move in.

Lyric Bell knows that Marcus is a Christian...it said so in his ad. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare go to interview as a roommate with a stranger, but she's desperate. He might be her only saving grace and she needs sanctuary from her very real and present danger.

Even as Marcus takes his perceived responsibility to protect Lyric without question, she keeps a secret hidden, terrified that if he knew, he would send her back to the world she so desperately needed to escape.

My source for book: Personal Library

My Thoughts:
This story tackles the interesting issue of a single Christian guy having a single (and unrelated) female roommate. It's a touchy topic, but the uniqueness of it is actually what drew me to the story as I was curious to see how it would be handled.

The story is told from both Lyric's and Marcus's point of view, switching back and forth between them quite often. This does give you the opportunity to know how both characters are feeling almost simultaneously, but the amount of switches also seemed a bit awkward to me at times. 

I really liked Lyric's name as it's somewhat unique but not overly so. Unfortunately, as for Lyric herself, I had a hard time connecting with her. Her thought patterns are so repetitive that I became rather annoyed with her. Her background is rough, and this causes her to constantly think thoughts along the lines of "I'm not good enough" in regards to her personal relationships. Over and over she has these thoughts, and despite the fact that it's a central part of the story, I still grew weary of the repetitiveness of it.

The writing itself is okay....it doesn't have the feel of coming from a large publishing house, but it is very readable and is not filled with typos (I only saw a few). Some of the dialogue and character actions struck me as slightly unrealistic, but not unbearably so.

I'm hesitant to give a rating of only 2-stars because I know a lot of work goes into writing a story. And ultimately, I really do like the idea of the overall plot... but I honestly think it would be much stronger in a novella form with a tighter pace. If shortened, the repetitiveness of Lyric's thoughts could be largely decreased which would be a major boon. As it is, I did read the entire book.... but I was anxious to reach the end--and very glad when I did--so that I could move on to something else.

My Rating: 2 stars